As the new league year rapidly approaches, the Eagles will undoubtedly be scouring NFL rosters in search of opportunity. To get something, they would have to give something though. Here are five players who could well be floated on the trade block this offseason.
Fletcher Cox
This would be the most heartbreaking goodbye of all, but one that feels almost inevitable at this point. Fletcher Cox has had his name floated in trade conversations for the past year or so due to his enormous cap-hit and declining production. His open criticisms of Jonathan Gannon’s schemes only added fuel to the fire and as the trade deadline neared, it was made official that Cox was indeed being shopped around and was aware of it.
Carrying a $14M cap-hit in 2022, Cox is the fourth-highest player on the team as things stand and his production throughout 2021 was hardly worthy of a salary that high. With Javon Hargrave now the staple of the interior defense and Milton Williams only getting better, the Eagles would be wise to at least sniff around once again to see what they could get for the Mississippi product.
The only downside is the financial side of it. A trade would net the Eagles a return of $11M in free cap space thanks to his recently restructured deal, but there’s still a price to pay for the acquiring team.
The only issue is that by then, most premier free agents would be snapped up. There’s no harm in seeing what the trade market is like for Cox, but is contract might be a little to heavy for another team to burden without a restructure.
Jalen Reagor
After two disappointing seasons in Philadelphia, it might be time to cut ties with a wideout who could clearly benefit from a change of scenery. 299 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2021 don’t really begin to contextualize the struggles of a receiver taken in the first-round only one year before.
Reagor has struggled with the criticism thrown his way on social media and has been anything but consistent. However there have still been flashes of what could be, and that has to be encouraging.
The Eagles might not get a lot in return for the TCU product, but cutting their nose to spite their face, opening up the WR2 spot for someone such as Allen Robinson or Calvin Ridley wouldn’t exactly yield a bad result.
Miles Sanders
The Penn State product is entering his contract year and while he continues to show signs of one day becoming an explosive running back, he still struggles with the same things he did when he first arrived: Vision, hitting the hole decisively, and pass-protection.
It’s not all on Sanders’ shoulders. It’s not his fault that Nick Sirianni forgot he existed for weeks on end, and he still managed to muster a 754-yard campaign and set a new career-high in YPC. However, the Eagles haven’t paid a running back anything close to substantial since the DeMarco Murray contract and that probably won’t change given the fact that the team led the NFL in rushing yards with only minimal expenditure at the position.
This whole situation is very reminiscent of when the Bears traded Jordan Howard after the rise of Tarik Cohen before drafting David Montgomery, a similarly-built back but one with no danger of having to give a massive payday to anytime soon.
Sanders has the potential to be a very productive back in the NFL, but if the Eagles can cash in early and find a suitable replacement on a rookie deal, I fully expect them.
Andre Dillard
It feels like forever ago that Dillard was once thought of as the heir to the throne of Jason Peters. The 26-year-old is now three seasons deep and nestled behind former seventh-round pick Jordan Mailata at LT, who has not only leapfrogged him, but most of the NFL.
To a team looking for a reclamation project with youth and upside intact, Dillard should tick those boxes. The WSU product is contracted through next season as well as there being the potential for a fifth-year option.
With a minimal cap hit next to his name as a result, teams did do some window shopping towards the deadline and there should be some mild interest this offseason as well.
Jalen Hurts
Hurts is the unlikeliest person to be traded as it appears the team is ready to ride their luck for another season in the hopes he develops, but if we’ve learned anything about the Eagles over the past few years, it’s to expect the unexpected.
If the Eagles are looking to acquire someone like Russell Wilson, or there’s even the faintest of interests from the Seattle QB, it’s hard not to imagine Howie picking up the phone. With that sole scenario in mind, it’s also hard not to fully write off Hurts from being traded, no matter the level of faith the team appears to have in him.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
